Veterans Get a 'Welcome Home' Parade in Three Camden County Towns

Red, white and blue was the official color of the Black Horse Pike on Saturday morning, as residents from Gloucester Township, Bellmawr, and Runnemede came out in droves to show their support for the area's veterans and active duty military members.     

“From initial planning, it turned out terrific. We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day,” Phil Williams, commander of Erial Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post No. 5794, said.

Williams is a Marine Corps veteran who served for 28 years and 45 combat tours. He says it was emotional to see so many people waving flags and saying "welcome."   

Williams was amazed at how successful the "Welcome Home Veterans" Parade was considering organizers only had only about 70 days to coordinate it. He says it can only grow from here.     

Suzanne Capece Moore, of Gloucester Township, one of three main organizers of the parade, says that a total of 24 organizations participated in the parade. She says that organizing the parade began by just reaching out to local VFWs and American Legions.     

She called the parade a success and says it was heartwarming to watch.     

The parade consisted not only of military men and women, but also a performance from the Camden County Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, military vehicles, local Girl Scouts and Boy Scout organizations, and various motorcycle brigades who came to show their support.      

Police lined the Black Horse Pike from Station Avenue in Glendora to Ninth Avenue in Runnemede, blocking all intersections to allow the parade's participants to safely proceed. 

An emotional event

Both Marjorie and Ray Scnappe, of Glendora, said the parade meant a lot to them. Ray Scnappe is a Navy veteran who served in the Korean War and currently works on the USS New Jersey.  

Marjorie says she cannot help but get emotional about the parade because of her husband and her grandson, who is a Marine in training in North Carolina.

"I think it’s nice they came out for all the veterans who left their jobs to go overseas,” Ray Scnappe said.     

The parade finished at the Runnemede War Memorial, at the Black Horse Pike and Ninth Avenue, where those who marched and parade spectators alike were treated to an all-American cookout, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers.

At the helm of the massive grill was Kevin Bucceroni, a Gloucester Township resident, vice president of the Black Horse Pike Regional School Disrict Board of Education, and one of the three major coordinators of the parade.     

“It’s awesome to see so much support for our veterans,” said Samantha Spaulding, of Runnemede, who offered her thanks to Bucceroni for his time and effort.       

The event wrapped up with comments by the master of ceremonies, Lt. Col. Al Bancroft. Matt Fitsch sang the National Anthem, soon followed by a prayer service by his father, Gunther Fitsch. The elder Fitsch talked about being born at the end of Nazism and reminded the crowd that freedom is not free—it has a price.        

Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer was one of the many featured speakers who testified to the parade’s turnout.   

"We witnessed a highway of heroes,” Mayer said.   

Marianne Coyle, of Gloucester Township, said the idea for the "Welcome Home Veterans" parade started out as an idea she and Bucceroni helped foster to fruition. Soon after, they enlisted the help of another friend, Moore.   

Coyle says the intention from the start was that the parade was for the veterans, meaning it was the veterans who told them what they wanted in it. The veterans even selected where the proceeds from the parade would go, of which the recipients are Wounded Warriors and the Military Support Group of New Jersey.     

She says this was something that included not just current servicemen and servicewomen, but those who fought in the wars of the 20th century, too. She says it saddens her to think of all those who returned from Vietnam who never had this kind of "welcome home" event.